Background to this inspection
Updated
26 August 2021
The inspection
We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.
Inspection team
This inspection was completed by one inspector and an Expert by Experience. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.
Service and service type
This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats.
The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.
Notice of inspection
This inspection was announced. We gave the provider 48 hours' notice of the inspection. This was because we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.
Inspection activity started on 23 June 2021 and ended on 23 July 2021. We visited the office location on 22 July 2021.
What we did before the inspection
We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
We spoke with four people who used the service and nine relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with nine members of staff including the provider, the nominated individual, registered manager, care supervisor, community liaison manager and care workers. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider.
We reviewed a range of records. This included four people’s care records and medication records. We looked at four staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including training records and incident analysis were reviewed.
After the inspection
We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at quality assurance surveys and staff performance management.
Updated
26 August 2021
About the service
Bluebird Care (Gravesham & Dartford) is a domiciliary care agency registered to provide personal care to people living in their own homes. At the time of the inspection the agency was providing personal care to 90 people.
Not everyone who used the service received personal care. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) only inspects where people receive personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also consider any wider social care provided.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
There was a positive, person centred, open, learning culture in the service led by the providers values and a well-respected and caring registered manager. Staff were highly appreciated and valued; and their achievements were recognised. This had forged a highly motivated staff team and high-quality care for people with positive outcomes. The provider had ensured effective quality assurance systems were in place to monitor and manage the risks and quality of care and to drive forward improvements. Staff recommended working for the provider and people recommended care from the provider.
The provider and registered manager used every possible opportunity to proactively seek, identify and promote improvements in the service for people and staff. Action plans ensured improvements were implemented. People, their loved ones, staff and the local public were effectively engaged in the service and feedback we received was overwhelmingly positive. Staff went beyond their roles to help improve people’s quality of life and well-being. Staff worked well with other agencies to ensure people’s needs were met. Staff well-being was cared for and the provider had made a strong contribution to the local community.
People and their loved ones we spoke with told us they felt safe and were happy with the care they received. There were enough suitable, well trained and safely recruited staff deployed to ensure people’s needs were met. People always received their care visits and were not rushed. If carers were running late due to an unavoidable cause people were informed. Risks were well managed to keep people safe from harm and lessons were learnt from incidents to prevent them reoccurring. When people received support with their medicines this was done safely by competent staff. People were protected from the risk and spread of infection and had been well cared for to stay safe during COVID-19.
People received person centred care which met their needs and respected their choices by staff who knew them well. People were encouraged to maintain their independence and their communication needs were met. People and their loved ones were empowered to raise any concerns or complaints and consistently told us any concerns were dealt with. People were supported to maintain their interests as far as possible and to keep in touch with their loved ones during COVID-19. People received good end of life care.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection and update
The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 12 November 2019). The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.
Why we inspected
We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection of this service on 17 September 2019. Breaches of legal requirements were found. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve staffing and receiving and acting on complaints.
We undertook this focused inspection to check they had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions Safe, Responsive and Well-led which contain those requirements.
The ratings from the previous comprehensive inspection for those key questions not looked at on this occasion were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection. The overall rating for the service has changed from Requires Improvement to Good. This is based on the findings at this inspection.
You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Bluebird Care (Gravesham & Dartford) on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.